TTO 
retained the parental rose combs one-third—or one- 
fourth of the whole number—are true dominants, 
true because when bred among themselves they will 
transmit only rose combs; the other two-thirds, or 
one-half of the whole number, while they possess 
rose combs, to be sure, are really mixed in their 
nature. This is shown by the fact that when they 
are bred together they will not transmit rose combs 
exclusively, but will divide them up again in ex¬ 
actly the same proportions in which their own gen¬ 
eration received them, viz., one-fourth single and 
three-fourths rose combs, a ratio of 1:3. Which 
of this three-fourths are true dominants, able to 
transmit rose combs alone, and which belong to the 
mixed class cannot be told by inspection, as they 
are all rose-combed, but when bred together they 
reveal their true nature by the combs of their 
young. The ratio between single and rose combs 
in this generation we have seen to be 1:3, but we 
have also seen that the three parts rose combs must 
again be divided into one-third true (dominant) rose 
combs, and two-thirds mixed. This gives us a new 
ratio when we consider the generation as a whole, 
viz.. 1:2:1, or one part dominants, two parts mixed, 
and one part recessives. This is the Mendelian ratio, 
and this was Mendel’s discovery. We may state it 
thus: When animals or plants having opposed and 
mutually exclusive characters are bred together 
their progeny will usually show this character in 
only one form, the dominant one; but when this 
progeny in turn is bred together one-fourth of the 
offspring will show the character iu the lost or re¬ 
cessive form, and when bred among themselves will 
transmit it pure; one-fourth will show it in the 
dominant form and will also transmit it pure when 
inter-bred, while one-half will likewise show it in the 
dominant form, but instead of transmitting it pure 
will again divide it up in the ratio of 1:2 :1 the same 
ratio in which their generation received it; the Men¬ 
delian ratio. 
And so on through succeediug generations, the 
same process and ratio holds. When two or more 
unit characters are opposed in a cross the figures 
rapidly become more complicated, but Mendel’s 
ratios hold true. The chief features of the law of 
Mendel, then, may be said to be the existence of unit 
characters, the dominance of some over others in 
breeding, and the ratios in which they are transmit¬ 
ted through succeeding generations. As to the me¬ 
chanism of this transmission through the segrega¬ 
tion of the units contributed by the respective par¬ 
ents, and the operation of the law of chance, space 
will not permit of its discussion, nor would it be 
readily understood without some knowledge of 
biology. Readers who wish to pursue the subject 
further are referred to any recent work upon animal 
or plant breeding. 
The discoveries of Mendel were made during the 
latter half of the last century. He was an Austrian 
monk and contemporary of Darwin, but because of 
his obscure position his work was. not generally 
known and his discoveries were for the time lost. 
De Vries and others rediscovered the law which 
bears Mendel’s name in 1900, and since that time 
knowledge of the subject has rapidly increased. 
M. B. DEAN. 
COLLEGES THAT CAN LEAD. 
Last February the Hope Farm man said that the 
University of Wisconsin had done more to influence 
the history of its State than any other State univer¬ 
sity in the country. Some of these institutions have 
influenced the State in the wrong direction—yet we 
think the above statement is true. The Philadel¬ 
phia City Club recently spent four days of study at. 
the university. They were four strenuous days, too, 
packed full of incident and observation. One man 
who attended writes the following in a personal 
letter: 
Well, we had a great time. They talked to us while 
we ate. I never saw such a bunch of enthusiasts— 
men full of the new idea of carrying the gospel of the 
university to the people. They have 5,0(H) students in 
residence and 5,000 enrolled in their extension course. 
As Professor Ross expressed it, “They are trying to 
use the extension department of the university to over¬ 
come stratification in society.” They recognize merit 
without regard to college degree or training. President 
Van Hise said that Greek and economic etymology could 
be taught in a way that would be dry and uninterest¬ 
ing, or they could both be taught in a way that would 
be cultural and liberalizing. That is one of the AVis- 
consin ideas, but I think the one that impressed me 
most was the Legislative Reference Department estab¬ 
lished by Charles McCarthy. He is the architect of 
new legislation; he sees that no freak legislation is 
passed iu Wisconsin. He is at the beginning of things 
legislative. I think every State ought to have such a 
department iu it. 
This man and others like him will ask why there 
is not an institution like this in the Eastern States 
to give expression to the thoughts and desires of the 
plain, common working people. If our Eastern 
States had such schools history would have been 
written differently. For example, in such a battle 
THE RUKAL NEW-YORKER 
as we are now having in New York State over the 
right to control nominations there would be a very 
different story to tell, if we had a university like 
that iu Wisconsin to provide leaders. Why have we 
not such institutions in the Eastern States? 
Here is one reason given by a farmer who lives 
close to the college which he criticizes: 
I cannot refrain from writing you to testify to the 
lack of inclination of professional agriculture to wage 
the battles of the farmers, and 1 have made the state¬ 
ment in the presence of several of our State college pro¬ 
fessors that if they used one-half the energy to secure 
for the farmer more of the consumer’s dollar than they 
did to secure larger appropriations for themselves the 
farmers and agriculture in general would be far more 
benefited. And right here in this matter of appropria¬ 
tion lies the keynote to their attitude. If they took up 
the cudgels in behalf of the farmers they fear they 
would lose the support of the “interests.” and perhaps 
they feel as though the “end justifies the means.” An¬ 
other peculiarity about professional agriculture which I 
have noticed is the avidity with which it endeavors to 
get control of farmers’ organizations for fear lest farm¬ 
ers’ minds should get wandering on the “35-cent dollar” 
instead of the “two blades of grass.” 
Another great reason is the natural conservatism 
of the East. We have been taught for years to be¬ 
lieve that any radical suggestion which breaks away 
from an old practice is rank heresy. For the East¬ 
ern section has lived for several generations on the 
proceeds from grandfather’s dollars. When grand¬ 
father hands down a dollar to his heir the younger 
generation forgets much of the old gentleman’s 
sterling qualities in the joy of fingering the dollar. 
The heir wishes to spend it or add to it, and the de¬ 
sire to do either breeds a sort of moral cowardice. 
Iu Wisconsin and other Western States grandfather 
had no dollar. He went into the woods with an ax 
and cut out his own home. Thus the heir still has 
respect for grandfather’s arm, and this respect has 
thus far dominated popular thought and public 
education. There are still thousands of plain people 
in the Eastern States who got very few dollars from 
HOMEMADE CEMENT MIXER. Fig. 271. 
grandfather, but while iu a majority in numbers 
they are in a minority in the power to influence 
thought and education. The hope for them is to 
learn how, iu some way, to dominate the schools 
and colleges and bring them back where they belong. 
A FEW BEE QUESTIONS 
I have a hive of native black bees. I am desirous of 
introducing to the colony an Italian queen, and eventu¬ 
ally to change the bees to Italians. While I have not 
had a great deal of experience with bees, I have read 
and studied a great deal about them. I feel gifted with 
a fair amount of common sense in handling them. Could 
I do the changing of the queens myself, or would it 
be wiser for me to get someone of more experience to 
do it for me? How is the changing of queens done? 
If a man knows how to be successful with bees, why 
wouldn’t it pay him to plant such crops as clover, buck¬ 
wheat and Alfalfa, to be used for the poultry or ani¬ 
mals? Would the income from the bees pay the cost 
of fertilizer for the fields, provided of course that the 
bees could fully take care of all the honey-making ma¬ 
terial these crops produced? a. B. w. 
Providence, R. I. 
You will miss half the pleasure of keeping bees 
unless you learn to do the necessary work of the 
apiary yourself and I should, by all means, remove 
the old queen and introduce the new one. You will 
find directions for finding the queen that you wish 
to remove on page 429 of the March 22 issue of this 
paper. After having removed the old queen all that 
remains to do is to introduce the new one in the 
cage in which she will be shipped to you, and you 
will find full directions for doing this on a printed 
slip attached to that cage. After having found and re¬ 
moved the old queen you will, of course, reassemble 
the hive before placing the caged queen upon the 
frames to be released by the other bees. It probably 
would not pay anyone to sow crops chiefly for the 
honey that they might produce; too large an area 
would be required and the expense would be too 
great. Of the crops that you mention Alfalfa does 
not yield honey in the East, and Red clover is very 
uncertain as a source of nectar. AA’hite clover is 
one of the most important of the honey-producing 
crops, and it might pay a bee-keeper to sow it along 
the roadsides and in such other places nearby as 
were adapted to it; he should remember, however, 
June 21, 
that his own bees would have no monopoly of the 
blooms, and it might be a little expensive to try to 
feed the bees of everyone within reach. Buckwheat 
is also a very important honey producer in regions 
where it is extensively grown; being sown on dif¬ 
ferent dates, fields come into bloom in succession 
and give a comparatively long harvest Your last 
question is a poser; but I think that it may safely 
be said that the chief profit from honey comes from 
the fact that it is essentially a by-product, and that 
it would not pay anyone to raise crops for honey 
that he would not otherwise raise. m. b. d. 
TRUTH ABOUT WESTERN OPPORTUNITIES. 
[Last Spring Collier’s AA r eekly made a statement 
somewhat like this: “A stout, able-bodied man can get 
off the train at any station west of central Nebraska 
and at once obtain work. In five years he can have a 
farm and in 20 years he will be sending his children 
to the university!” AVe sent to a number of our Ne¬ 
braska readers—names taken at random—and asked if 
this statement is correct. AA’e have all sorts of an¬ 
swers, the following being a fair, sober statement of 
the facts.] 
The statement of Collier’s National Weekly that 
a man without a dollar can get off at any railway 
station in Nebraska, at this season, and within three 
days get a good job on a farm, can get hold of a 
farm within three years, and within 20 years have 
a home and property, is a little too liberal, and liable 
to be misleading. Good hands are in demand from 
March to October, and can get about $30 per month 
aud board during that time. A few receive as high 
as $35 per month and board, but this is exceptional. 
From October to December he would probably re¬ 
ceive about $25 a month and board. From Christ¬ 
mas to March he might have to pay board. During 
July and the first half of August shockers and 
pitchers receive from $3 to $3.50 per day and board. 
A few tried and true men are able to secure employ¬ 
ment on farms where a large amount of stock is 
raised at $25 per month and board the year around. 
On some of these places a house is provided for a 
married hand, but this is not general. 
By the end of three years a man may have be¬ 
tween $400 and $500 saved up. This is not enough 
to start him as a farmer, but he will have to wait 
until the end of the fourth or fifth year before he 
can become even a tenant farmer. Farming here is 
done almost entirely by machinery and a capital of 
from $1,000 to $1,200 is usually required unless the 
farmer is willing to go into debt. From tenant 
farmer to farm owner is a long and laborious road. 
Rents are usually one-third the crop delivered at 
the nearest railroad town, or a cash rent about 
equal to a third of the average crop raised on the 
land, plus an additional rent for any pasture or 
Alfalfa on the place. The profits remaining will 
not be excessive, perhaps from $200 to $400 above 
the expenses and wages for the farmer. Almost 
the only hope is in raising live stock. 
In the south central part of the .State prices range 
from $20 per acre for pasture land to $150 per acre 
for first-class improved farms near towns. This 
makes a farm cost about $16,000. Generally one- 
fifth or one-fourth must be paid down, the balance 
in installments with six per cent, interest, the seller 
giving the purchaser possession but retaining the 
title. After half the j»rice is paid a title may be 
secured and the place mortgaged for the balance 
at five or six per cent, interest. 
The statement made by Collier’s was true 12 or 14 
years ago, and may still be true in a few places in 
the State, but conditions have greatly changed in the 
last 10 years. Land values have more than trebled 
in that time. Central aud Eastern Nebraska must 
now be classed as an old settled country, and offers 
advantages about equal to those of other old com¬ 
munities. There is a fine opportunity here for men 
with capital, but those without capital will not find 
it. a paradise. Some of them could better themselves 
by coming here, but nobody can get rich here in a 
day any more than he could in New York or any 
other Eastern State. F. b. striker. 
Webster Co., Neb. 
1 cannot say anything about the conditions at 
Omaha, as that is 116 miles south of here, but any 
man who will do an honest day’s work can get eight 
or 10 jobs in a day within 10 miles of Sioux City at 
$30 to $35 a month and board. I would give a good 
man $30 a month by the year if l could get one. 
There is more work than men around here. I have 
lived here since 1873, and it is harder to get a good 
farmhand at any price now than ever before. The 
good ones save their money aud buy a team, plow, 
wagon and cultivator at some farm sale and rent a 
farm and start for themselves; I know of six or 
eight right here who started as hired men who own 
farms now, and have made it in 10 or 12 years. It 
all depends on the man. c. K. 
Sioux, Neb. 
